100 Easy Mutton Curries

This cookbook lists 100 Mutton curries, greatly simplified, so that a first time cook can easily cook them. The principle is simple – Mutton is pressure cooked  and  is combined with ten different bases and 10 different flavouring techniques to create a hundred different recipes.  The ten different bases are listed below :

0.: Onion An extra dose of onions is used as a base in the famous Dopyaza ( Double onion curry)

1.: Nuts / Seeds Using nut paste and milk as a base is another hallmark of  the Mogul cuisine. This is usually used to cook the Mutton Korma.

2.: Herbs -  A variety of herbs are used across India as a curry base. Mint mutton , coriander mutton and gongura mutton are regional delicacies.

3.: Coconut milk is widely used as a curry base in all the coastal cuisines, especially in Konkan, Goa and Kerala.

4.: Yogurt is cooked until dry and is used as a curry base in the Kashmiri cuisine.

5.:  Spinach is used as a base to cook up a greenish curry,  the Saag Mutton.

6.: Tamarind is used as a base in the southern states of Andhra, Tamilnadu and Karnataka to cook  Mutton Kulambu.

7.:  Onion – garlic - Tomato is a widely used curry base across the country.

8.: Boiled pulses are cooked along with mutton to cook up the famous Mutton Dhansak, from  the Parsi cuisine 

Ten different flavouring combinations are listed in the cookbook. You’ll note that each flavouring technique calls for a different type of oil. However, you can safely substitute refined vegetable oil in place of other oils.

0.: Mustard + Red chili  fried in coconut oil is chiefly used in Kerala cuisine       

1.:  Cumin + Ginger- Garlic  is a flavouring common in Muglai cuisine    

2.: Mustard + Asafetida  fried in sesame oil is commonly used in Tamil cuisine

3.:  Panchphoran  fried in mustard oil is the standard flavouring used in Bengali / Oriya cuisine    

4.: Mustard + Curry leaves + Fenugreek  is another southern flavouring combination.

5.: Cloves – Cinnamon  with ginger garlic paste and garam masala is commonly used in North Indian cuisine.     

6.: The mixture of fried & ground coriander seeds, pepper and cumin is used across India.        

7.: A special blend of roast & ground Spices is used in Goa for the fragrant Xacuti.

8.: A variety of readymade spice powders ( Mutton Masala) can be used .

1001 Fresh Salsas

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This cookbook lists 1000 simple fresh salsas from 000 to 999. Ten different bases are paired with ten different flavourings and ten different souring agents to create a thousand different salsas. 

The base:
Though tomato and tomatillos are the most popular bases, a variety of fruits and vegetables can be made into salsas. Column 1 lists 10 different bases which can be used. 

The flavouring :
A variety of flavouring agents as listed in column 2 can be used in salsas. 

Souring agents :
Though lime / lemon / vinegar are commonly used, other souring agents as listed in column 3 can be used.

1001 Pooris ( Deep fried Indian flatbreads)

This cookbook lists 1000 simplified pooris (deep fried Indian flatbreads).Ten different bases are paired with ten different additives and ten stuffings to create a thousand different pooris. These recipes are graded from easy to tough, with 000 being the easiest and 999 being the toughest. 

The base:
Though whole-wheat flour (atta) and refined wheat flour (maida) account for most pooris cooked across India, we have specialty pooris made from a variety of flours, like the unusual pooris made from water chestnut (water caltrop) flour, the Singare ki Poori.  As many of these flours cannot be kneaded into a dough, they are mixed with wheat flour to make kneading easier.

The additives:
A variety of spices, herbs or vegetables as listed in column 2 can be kneaded into the dough.

The stuffing:
Anything without too much moisture can be used to stuff a poori. Potatoes, paneer and dal make easy stuffing whereas cauliflower or radishes take time to master, because they have more moisture. Though non-veg stuffings are not common, they can be cooked into delicious pooris. 

In case the stuffing makes the poori soggy, and you are unable to roll it, just knead the stuffing into the dough, roll into a thin disc and deep fry it. All these pooris can be fried in a variety of oils. Each oil imparts its own flavour to the poori. 

Thus, combining a variety of stuffing with a variety of bases and additives would give you an endless list of pooris. You can literally have a different poori for every day of your life and still have plenty leftover !

And this goes to Food in Colours event.

1001 Exotic Raitas

Indian cuisine discovered that anything tastes good with yogurt. That led to the development of an array of raitas ( Yogurt dips).  This cookbook  uses the principle of the Raita to create a variety of exotic raitas from a variety of fermented milk products. Repeating what we did in the 1001 Exotic lassis cookbook, .we can borrow fermented milk products around the world, lend them our technique, letting raitas move beyond yogurt.

The base of all raitas is fermented milk. This is mixed with a variety of flavourings as listed in column 2 and additives listed in column 3 to give a thousand different exotic raitas. 

The bases are listed below :
Kefir, from Caucasus, is milk ( usually from goat / camel)  fermented with Kefir grains into a thin yogurt.

Viili is a Finnish version of yogurt made by curdling milk with special bacteria. Like Indian yogurt, previously made Viili is used as a starter for the next batch. 

Kaymak, from Turkey is fermented milk made by boiling milk and then slowly simmering it for hours over gentle heat. The cream is then skimmed and fermented into mild, rich paste.

The central Asian Kumis is fermented mare's milk. Commercial Kumis uses cow's milk, mixed in with various additives, to make it similar to mare's milk.

Filmjölk, from Sweden is milk fermented by bacteria into a less sour version of normal yogurt.

The South African Amasi is made by fermenting unpasteurised cow's milk in a container made from calabash / hide sack.

Doogh , from Iran is very similar to carbonated buttermilk. Yogurt is beaten well, mixed with water and fermented so that the drink becomes fizzy. A shortcut is to mix in soda with yogurt.

The viscous Matsoni is Georgian version of yogurt.

Flavouring :
A range of flavourings from garlic, cumin to a variety of fried spices as listed in column 2 can be used.

Additives
Almost anything edible can be used in a Raita.  A variety of salad vegetables, boiled / grilled vegetables, fruits, herbs as listed in column 3 can be used.

1001 Simple Payasam ( Sweet Indian Pudding)

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"Payasam" (Sanskrit 'peeyusham’ : Nectar), Kheer (Sanskrit 'Ksheera : Milk) are desserts cooked from sweetened milk. 

This cookbook lists 1000 simple payasams. 10 different bases are combined with ten different additives and ten different flavouring to produce a thousand different payasams. 

A variety of bases as listed in column 1 can be used for payasam.

Though traditionally only cow / buffalo milk is used as the base, a variety of  ‘plant milk’ is now available. Almond milk, Rice milk or Cashew milk can be easily made at home and used as a base for payasams. The most common ‘plant milk’ is coconut milk, which is used extensively in Kerala payasams.

Payasams can be flavored in various ways as listed in column 2

The additives generally used are listed in column 3.  In Kerala, we see unique additives – Jack fruit Jam ( Chakka varati) and ada, used nowhere else in India.

Ramayana records that king Dasratha, father of lord Rama, performed a large yagna (sacrificial ritual) seeking children. A deity rose from the altar and presented the king with a divine payasam. He distributed it equally to his four wives, who were then blessed with children.

Payasams / Kheer are cooked across India and Pakistan, mostly with milk. In Kerala, coconut milk is used in place of or in addition to milk. Kerala boasts of a variety of payasams called Pradhaman, which are cooked with coconut milk and use jaggery as the sweetener.

Payasams are mandatory in every feast, Hindu or Muslim. Some of the best payasams are cooked in Indian temples and served free to thousands of devotees each day. The payasams of Guruvayoor, Ambalappuzha and Sabarimala are very famous and have interesting stories behind them.

In Ambalapppuzha, a small town near Alappuzha in Kerala, Lord Krishna challenged a vain King to a game of chess. On winning, the king was outraged at the Lord’s apparently puny demand - one grain of rice on the first square, 2 on the second, four on the third and so on. The amount of rice grew exponentially (The total amount of rice on the first half of the chessboard would weigh around 100,000 Kg. In the second half of the chess board, the rice grains would weigh 6 times over the weight of the Earth!). The now humbled king realised his folly and sought forgiveness. Lord Krishna relented and permitted him not to clear the debt immediately, but over time. The king agreed to serve payasam made with rice to all devotees till the debt was cleared. It is served at the Unni Krishna temple to this day and at the current rate, the debt is likely to be paid off in a few million years!

In Sabarimala, we see the Aravana payasam, a unique payasam made without milk. Broken rice, ghee and jaggery are simmered down to a very sweet, viscous, brown, grainy, glistening pudding. It is so popular that a million kg is sold every month during the festive season! According to a myth, Lord Ayyappa, the presiding bachelor deity was wooed by a girl who brought him this payasam everyday. He grew so fond of it that it is still offered to Him daily.

Kerala payasams are cooked in thick bottomed, heavy bronze vessels, called charakku. These thick vessels distribute heat evenly and allow for long periods of simmering without burning food.

The Bhat payasa, served at the Puri Jagannath temple, is probably the oldest recorded rice pudding. It is said that the recipe has not changed over two thousand years.

The Mugal version of payasam, cooked in Hyderabad, called Gil - e - firdaus (clay of paradise) is a thick, rich pudding cooked with milk, sugar and vermicelli.

Another variety of payasams called phirni are cooked in the North India. These are nothing but thick payasams cooked with rice paste, milk and sugar.

And this is for Srivalli's Festive Treats.

10 No-cook soups

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This cookbook lists 10 simple soups. The recipes are greatly simplified so that a first time cook can easily cook them. The following recipes are listed in this cookbook.

 1.:  Simple  Gazpacho ( Spanish)

2.:  Green Gazpacho  ( Spanish)

3.:  White Gazpacho   ( Spanish)

4.:  Oriental Gazpacho (Fusion)  

5.: Pineapple Gazpacho (Fusion)

6.:  Tarator  ( Bulgarian)

7.:  Salmorejo ( Spanish)

8.:  Ajoblanco  (Spanish)

9.:. Water melon Soup  ( Fusion)

10.: Coconut milk Soup ( Thai)

And this goes to Lisa's Kitchen

1001 Exotic Lassis

Every cuisine evolves from locally available stuff. When a cuisine absorbs different ingredients and different cooking techniques from other cultures, it gets enriched.
This assimilation has never before been easier. We now have access to a large variety of ingredients and cooking techniques and so can create a huge array of traditional recipes, made from exotic ingredients. Eating food from other culturesis probably the easiest way to understand and appreciate them.

Indian cuisine discovered that when fermented milk, the yogurt, is blended with sugar, it makes a delicious drink, the lassi.  Seems simple, but not many cuisines across the world whip up so many varieties of fermented milk drinks. Other cuisines, however have a large array of fermented milk products. We can borrow their ingredients and lend them our technique, thus unshackling lassi from yogurt and let it be made from fermented milk across the world.

Though Indian lassis are made from cow / buffalo milk, lassis can be made from any fermented milk. Each culture has its own way of fermenting milk and almost all of them can be turned into delicious lassis. Using the Indian technique of blending fermented milk with a variety of flavourings and additives, a large variety of global lassis can be created.

The base of all lassis is fermented milk. This is blended with a variety of flavourings as listed in column 2 and additives listed in column 3 to give a thousand different exotic lassis

 The bases are listed below :

Kefir, from Caucasus, is milk ( usually from goat / camel)  fermented with Kefir grains into a thin yogurt.

Viili is a Finnish version of yogurt made by curdling milk with special bacteria. Like Indian yogurt, previously made Viili is used as a starter for the next batch. 

Kaymak, from Turkey is fermented milk made by boiling milk and then slowly simmering it for hours over gentle heat. The cream is then skimmed and fermented into mild, rich paste.

The central Asian Kumis is fermented mare's milk. Commercial Kumis uses cow's milk, mixed in with various additives, to make it similar to mare's milk.

Filmjölk, from Sweden is milk fermented by bacteria into a less sour version of normal yogurt.

The South African Amasi is made by fermenting unpasteurised cow's milk in a container made from calabash / hide sack.

Doogh , from Iran is very similar to carbonated buttermilk. Yogurt is beaten well, mixed with water and fermented so that the drink becomes fizzy. A shortcut is to mix in soda with yogurt.

The viscous Matsoni is Georgian version of yogurt.

10 Simple Soups

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cookbook lists 10 simple soups.. The recipes are greatly simplified so that a first time cook can easily cook them. For
more detailed recipes, check out the external links below. The following recipes are listed in this cookbook.

 1.:  Gazpacho 

2.:  Tarator

3.:  Ajoblanco  

4.:  Miso soup

5.:  Mulligatawny Soup 

6.:  Green pea soup  

7.:   Potato Soup 

8.:   Clear vegetable soup  

9.:.  Coconut milk Soup

10.:  Lentil Soup  

And that's my submission for Divya's Diet food event and  for sunday snacks : Fix it.